Bravery competition gone wrong
by MNLMFangirl
Summary: Mello, Matt and Near venture into some woods during the night. Wanting to see who is the bravest so the first one to leave the group running out of the forest loses and the last one in the forest wins. However their little competition takes a turn for the worst when the highly unexpected happens. This leaves the three trying to escape with their very lives.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue:

Mello, Near and Matt are in the common room alone one day.

Mello and Matt are off to the side talking with Mello send glares at Near every now and then while Near works on his puzzle on the floor.

"Say Mello did you hear about the rumors that the forest by the orphanage's grounds is haunted?" Matt asks his blonde haired genius friend.

Mello looks to Matt half interested. "Oh? Is that so?"

Matt nods pulling out a D.S. "Apparently the spirit becomes murderous if you are out there at night especially when you're alone. They say if someone can stay in the forest for a whole night is the bravest person as everyone who has tried didn't last maybe close to half way because it's too scary." He starts playing on his D.S. tapping the buttons quickly as he plays his game.

Mello raises his eye brow interested now. "Is that so?" He smirks and looks to Near a devious plan forming in his mind. He usually isn't too interested in rumors like a haunted forest but the rest caught his interest. "Matt. We are going to be going into the forest tonight." Mello tells Matt still with a smirk on his face.

Matt looks up from his D.S. with slightly wide eyes. "A-Are you certain? It sounds really scary there!"

"Positive and Near is coming along." Mello tells Matt and heads towards Matt. "And you're not chickening out Matt!" He calls back over his shoulder at the red head.

Matt doesn't even notice the game over on his screen as he shivers at the thought of entering the forest he's heard so many stories about.

Mello stops beside Near still smirking at the younger.

Near looks up at Mello twirling his hair like he normally does. "Is there something I can help you with?" He asks without sounding rude.

"Yes. You, me and Matt are going into the haunted forest tonight. As a group and whoever is stays in there the longest is not only the bravest but the winner. Maybe we should have consequences." He looks a little thoughtful. "The losers need to have some sort of thing like a punishment."

Near watches Mello's face still twirling his hair. "You should know that it's just the over imagination of some not as smart kids but I'll play your little game. After all nothing exciting has happened for a while. I'd like some excitement." He agrees.

Matt gaps at the two still not believing that they are really going to do this and that he is actually going to be a part of it as Mello won't let him back out. "I regret telling him about the story." He mumbles to himself as he checks his D.S. growling seeing the game over. "Damn it Mario!" He reboots his game playing it once again.

"How about the consequence of not being the last one in the forest is to go up to the third floor of this place." Near offers as an idea. "Since you like rumors so much I'm sure you're familiar with the off limits third floor said to be haunted by a ghost that kills whoever goes up there. Then it was closed off when two boys went up there and disappeared never to be seen again. I highly doubt the rumors are true plus those two were old enough to leave the orphanage and had been talking about leaving a lot. It is possible they left and no one knew or noticed. So how about it?"

Mello looks into Nears eyes. "Well I was thinking that the two losers had to do whatever the winner wanted but Matt practically does that anyways so it wouldn't be a punishment. So the losers will have to go up to the third floor. We'll meet out back half an hour after curfew. We shall be allowed a camera that will be with each of us so we have proof and a flashlight if wanted. See you there Near. The cameras cannot be tampered with or you're automatically a loser and you have to cross dress the next day as punishment for a tampered with camera." He smirks.

"Sounds good to me." Near nods. "I'll see you two there." He goes back to his puzzle.

Mello goes back towards Matt with a smirk on his face. "I'm going to have the satisfaction of having Near scared and winning the bravery competition." He says not really caring if Matt was paying attention.

"Do we really have to do this?" Matt whines still keeping his eyes on his game.

"Yes and remember there's no way to weasel your way out of this including the consequences of losing." Mello looks to Matt and sees the gamer is playing his D.S. as expected. He leaves the common room excited about that night.

Matt glances to Near for a second taking his eyes off of his game to look at the pale boy. "Why did you have to agree?" He says loud enough for Near to hear.

"As I said, I agreed for something exciting to have happen. Plus the haunting rumors are most likely just over imaginative kids." Near responds.

Matt whines again. "And I'm going to be dragged into this." He leaves the room with that.

Near looks out the window to the field with the dense woods behind the field. He knows that isn't the forest they'll be going into as it is deemed safe for the orphans to go into by the adults but instead it's going to be one just a little past the orphanages grounds. "This will be interesting for sure." He mummers to himself.

But Mello, Matt and Near had no idea how truly terrifying, scarring and dangerous their adventure was going to be. Little did they know that they had just gotten themselves into something that could very well kill them, no idea at all.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter one:

It's is eleven PM, the sky is cloudless showing twinkling stars with a full moon in the sky and Mello is the first to arrive at the meeting spot.

Matt is the second to arrive without a choice but to come then Near came last but they are all pretty much a few seconds after one another.

All three of them of course are wearing foot wear for this trek. Matt and Mello are wearing their boots while Near is in white runners that he really doesn't use since he doesn't really go outside so they look almost new.

"Got your cameras?" Mello asks holding up his.

Near holds up his and Matt does the same.

"If any camera is found tampered with you will face the consequences for having a tampered with camera which I'm sure you both know what it is. We're going to keep them on the whole time that we are in there and don't forget you could only bring a flashlight as an extra item. Is everyone ready?" Mello glances at the other two males.

They nod, Near without hesitation and Matt with a little hesitation.

"Then let's go." Mello takes the lead heading towards the outskirts of the orphanages property to get to the forest with Near and Matt following.

The three remain silent as they walk to the location.

"Here it is." Matt says once they arrive trying to look brave but he is shaking a little and he is doing a bad job at hiding his fear.

The forest has a sign that says that the forest is haunted but it looks to be like just someone painted it on a broken plank of wood then nailed it to a tree. The forest is spooky though, it is thicker than the dense forest behind the field in the orphanages property and it is dark in there.

"No backing out! Turn on your cameras and remember to stick together unless you become a loser running out of the forest." Mello says turning on his camera with the other two doing the same.

Near and Matt move to either side of Mello and the three walk into the forest not staying in a consistent line but making sure to stick together as a group.

Mello looks around as the walk deeper into the forest and uses his cameras light as a flashlight as to make the trek less dangerous for him.

Matt has his own flashlight he brought instead of using his camera as it's on night vision mode.

Near is using his cameras light as a flashlight like Mello.

All three of them are of course recording everything about their journey.

Mello is a step ahead with Near almost beside him but a step behind and Matt sticking close to Near frightened.

A twig snaps and Matt jumps into Near without meaning to only to quickly look around with his flashlight.

Near looks to Matt then looks to Mello.

The three of them had paused when they heard the twig snap mainly because Matt started to panic so they waited to see if he would dash out or not.

Matt relaxes a touch not seeing anything. "Did you guy's hear that?" He asks still scared.

"Matt it could have been any one of us that stepped on the twig." Mello snorts and turns to continue the walk to deeper inside the forest. "Now come on."

Near pats Matt's shoulder making sure to no scare the other more than he already is. "Mello's right. The twig snapping could have been one of us or just some animal crawling around." He then follows Mello with Matt following not wanting to be left alone in the forest.

Matt stays very jumpy despite the other two's words while Near and Mello use their camera's light to check out some of the plants there.

"Don't either of you find it strange that we haven't seen or heard any animals?" Matt voices his concern.

Mello and Near stop making Matt almost run into Near. They listen and Mello looks around for something that could make a loud noise to try to scare the birds.

Near picks up a rock and throws it into the leaves of the nearest tree but nothing happens. "This time of season there's a lot of birds in trees especially in areas away from civilization like this place." He observes out loud.

"Weird." Mello agrees trying what Near did but with a different tree getting the same results. "Weird for sure. There should have been at least one bird but there's nothing. Not even the sound of a single animal that should be here."

Matt becomes tenser upon hearing this.

"I wonder why the birds are suddenly gone." Mello hums. "Even in a haunted forest there would still be birds here or at least another animal."

"I would like to know the same. Something isn't right about this." Near agrees. "Let's keep going. Maybe we'll find something that'll help us with this."

"Yeah." Mello agrees also giving a small nod.

"What! You two are going to just keep going even if it possibly means danger!?" Matt gasps shivering in fright. "This place is as scary as it is and now we can add the fact that there are no animals anywhere making it even scarier!"

"Chickening out Matt?" Mello asks the red head looking to him questioningly. "You are free to run out of the forest and accept the punishment if you don't think you can handle it." He reminds his friend.

Matt takes a moment to wonder if going up to the third floor at the orphanage is better than continuing this trek but his curiosity gets the best of him. He gives a small sigh before replying. "I'm not running." He tells the two a little softly.

Mello smirks softly. "Alright then let's get going." He and Near take the lead together with Matt following as they continue on deeper into the forest as the night goes on.

Matt gets the chills of something watching him but when he looks around the feeling goes away so he wonders if it was just his imagination.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter two:

So far there are no signs of animals, not even the birds that should be in the forest especially at this time of season.

Mello and Near keep searching for something that might give them a clue as to why there is no animals while Matt follows scared behind them jumping at the smallest noise like a snapping of a twig.

Near pauses and Mello stops turning to Near. "There aren't any bears here yet there's…" Near doesn't need to finish as he goes over to a tree examining claw marks on the tree there that look like a bear or monster made them. He makes sure to get his camera to have a good look at it as Mello comes over to examine the marks.

"Holy crap that's fucking big claw marks!" Mello puts the tip of his fingers against the marks and feels along the marks stopping once he touches something that isn't wood. He takes it out and finds some fur that looks like lion fur. "Lion fur?" He examines it with Near and Matt looking at it too.

"A Manticore?" Matt suggests taking a few steps back.

"Doubt it. This might be just someone's idea of a trick or a way to try to make people leave." Mello says a little proudly at saying it first. "Manticore's are mythical creatures like Griffin's." He turns away from the claw marks and sees that Near had moved away to take a look at the small area around them for any other signs of anything else.

Near stops and reaches up plucking out a large feather out of a tree. He examines it under his camera's light as Mello comes over to see what Near found and Matt keeps shining his flashlight into the darkness of the forest tense.

"An eagle feather?" Mello raises an eyebrow.

"Its size makes it seem like its fake but by it is a very real feather. However it's too big to be an eagle feather." Near observes.

Matt spots something and his eyes widen. "Um guys!" He calls to Mello and Near making them look at him. "There's blood." He tells them looking at a spot on the ground that only he had checked at the moment.

Mello and Near go over to Matt disregarding the feather and look at the blood.

Sure enough there on the ground is blood and it is starting to clot showing that it is real blood.

"It almost looks like someone made it look like a battle field between unknown monsters. A pretty good set up but it has to be fake." Mello says taking a step away from the other two and the blood.

Near looks down the area straight ahead from where the blood is finding a trail of blood. "Well whoever or whatever made all of this they left a trail."

Mello quickly goes up ahead starting to follow the trail. "There's some more lion fur and another eagle feather just the feather is smaller not to mention broken." He informs the other two. "Now this has to be someone trying to keep people out of this forest." He talks to himself as he looks around into the darkness with his camera's light. "And I will figure this out before Near!" He mumbles to himself. He passes over a dark spot of the forest and sees something there in the darkness something not usually there. He quickly moves his camera's light back to that spot only to find nothing so he takes a few steps closer but there isn't any sign of anything so he pushes it aside as nothing but his imagination since he had that spot well checked out with no signs of anything.

Near and Matt come over to by where Mello is though they all were still visible to each other Near went to join in the search for anything else suspicious while Matt followed going between Mello and Near.

Out of nowhere there is a screech that rips through the air almost like a loud eagle screech.

The three look around each taking different spots as they are almost back to back looking for anything that could have made the noise.

"Even then no birds even went noisily flying out of trees." Near quietly observes.

"Guy's let's get out of here." Matt whimpers in fear.

"Go ahead and take the losers penalty." Mello shrugs it off. "Don't think I am joining you."

"This is getting interesting." Near agrees with Mello. "But no one is making you stay in the forest Matt. You are free to leave whenever."

Matt glances back the way they came but moves closer to the other two not wanting to go out there into the forest alone. "I-I think I-I'll stay with the group." He shakily says fearful of what could be out there.

"Whatever. Let's keep going. I am going to solve this mystery." Mello begins the continue of the trek through the woods with Near following and Matt rushing to stay close to the other two.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter three:

Matt sticks close to both Near and Mello just looking for someone to be close to as he's still really scared.

Mello and Near are keeping their eyes out for anything that might seem out of place as they continue to head deeper and deeper.

Mello goes over to a fallen tree while Near stops to check some more claw marks on another tree with Matt in the middle unsure what else to do but keep an eye on the darkness of the forest with his flashlight.

"These claw marks sure are not from the same thing that made the first one we saw." Mello mummers to himself seeing four claw marks on different spots on the fallen tree.

"They almost look like eagle claw marks just bigger than normal." Near mummers to himself.

Mello feels someone flop their arm around his shoulders but it's not a touch he knows so it's most likely Near. "Near if you're scared just admit it. You don't have to put your arm around me." He says smugly.

Near and Matt look to Mello not pointing their cameras directly at him instead Near's camera is looking at a spot just past the tree he was looking at and Matt's camera is looking at the ground between him and Mello.

"Um Mello I am over here." Near waves his free hand to help signal where he is. "No one is close enough to you to put their arm around you."

Mello's eyes widen and he jumps away from the grip quickly moving his camera to try to see what had touched him. He sees a flash of a paw before it vanishes into the darkness. "What the hell!" He takes a step back but then follows where the paw went trying to see where that paw came from but he doesn't see anything.

A loud lion like roar makes all three boys jump even if it was just a little.

"What was that?!" Matt exclaims loudly in a terrified voice.

The loud eagle screech sounds out being followed by the sound of a twig snapping even though not one of the three boys had taken a step.

Matt's breath picks up speed as he looks around with his flashlight terrified but he makes sure that his camera gets some looking around as well.

Near and Mello stay as quiet as they can while listening for anything as they use their cameras to look into the darkness.

There's a few moments of silence and no sign of movement.

"Whoever you are come out this instant! You do not scare us!" Mello shouts in challenge. "Come on out you fucking coward!"

There is no response to Mello's challenge so after about a minute and a half he tries again.

"Show your face you wimp! You chicken! You aren't fooling anyone!" He shouts but again gets no response.

"It's possible they made a run for it when you first shouted." Near states to the blonde haired genius as he twirls his hair

"I know that." Mello growls out and is about to rush into the woods to try to see if he can see anyone but stops when there's rustling noises by where Near is standing so the noise tells the three that someone or something is coming their way. "About time!" Mello snorts moving closer to Near to hopefully catch whoever or whatever it is before Near and the two have their cameras pointed to where the noise is coming from ready to leap into action.

Matt on the other hand is more scared and hangs a little behind Mello and Near but makes sure to point his camera and flashlight to where the noise is.

What ends up coming out of the forest makes the three take a few steps back.

"GRIFFIN!" Matt screams with wide eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter four:

The Griffin glares at the three and spreads its wings as it opens its mouth letting out a screech. It charges at the three but they quickly separate dodging its attack by dashing off to the sides.

Matt narrowly avoids getting hit by the Griffins claws.

"FORGET ABOUT THE COMPOTITION! HEAD FOR THE EXIT AND WE'LL REGROUP OUTSIDE THE FOREST! IF WE DON'T IT MIGHT KILL US!" Near shouts with seriousness in his voice taking note that the Griffin is very much real with all the evidence it is pointing to that it is alive.

Mello is about to retort but is cut off when he has to dodge another attack.

Matt is about to bolt not exactly caring which way he was headed as long as it's away from the Griffin. "Fine by me!" He turns and dashes off in terror into the forest.

Near watches Matt leave out of the corner of his eye and watches the Griffin's movements moving according to its movements. "Mello let's go!" He calls to the other. "We need to get out of here unless you feel like being killed by a Griffin!"

"This has to be a fake!" Mello snaps but his words are contradicted when the Griffin misses its swipe at him slashing a tree instead with marks that look like the claw marks they had seen just before the Griffin appeared. He backs away towards the forest. "Damn it! If only we had some sort of weapon." He growls. "Then we could have had done more than just run away. I feel so pathetic running."

"Well if you don't run you die in such a way that is not noble or a way to be proud of at all!" Near tells him moving over to Mello making sure to keep the Griffin in his sights as it's still attacking them. He grabs Mello's arm and starts running away with Mello practically stumbling behind him.

"Near what the hell!" Mello snaps at the other.

"There was no way I was going to leave you to possibly get killed by the Griffin." Near tells him as they continue to try to leave the Griffin behind them.

Mello blinks not expecting that Near of all people would look out for not only his own life but the life of another especially his rival.

"Do you see it behind us?" Near asks after a moment of silence between them.

Mello looks back even using his camera as it's still recording like the other two's cameras are and the light is still on. "No nothing." He reports.

"We need to find Matt and get out of here. He ran off in a different direction then the way we came!" He tells Mello.

"That idiot." Mello growls and pulls his arm out of Near's grasp running on his own now. "He'd had better have turned to head to the way out of the forest."

Though both of them know that Matt had ran off in terror so it's not likely he would be thinking enough to turn to find the exit.

The lion like roar they heard earlier is heard again making them slow to a walk to try to find the source of the roar to try to avoid it.

There's rustling making both turn to where it's coming from which is the direction they had been running in.

Both of them are backing away ready to start running again if it's somehow the Griffin.

The beast that comes out into view isn't a Griffin though.

"A Manticore too!?" Mello growls as the beast approaches them.

"This way!" Near calls dashing to the left with Mello following.

They continue running and Near glances back finding that the Manticore is following them with a mighty roar and is also very real like the Griffin.

He turns to face where they are going as they continue to run, their cameras still capturing the whole thing that it is being pointed at.

Mello who is a little ahead of him suddenly skids to a stop almost making Near run into him.

"Mello the Manticore…" Near doesn't say anymore as he sees the Griffin approaching them coming from the direction they had been running in.

The Griffin has blood on one of its eagle claws that are its front feet along with a little blood on its beak; the blood is obviously not its own. It lets out a screech.

Mello glances behind them but finds the Manticore coming straight at them. He is suddenly pulled to the right by Near only for them to be stopped when the Griffin slams it's front claws, that don't have blood on them, right in front of the two males stopping them.

The Griffin screeches again and the Manticore roars.

Near tugs Mello in the direction of the left hoping to escape but the Manticore jumps in their way stopping them once again.

The two are trapped by a Griffin and a Manticore.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter five:

"Look for an opening to escape into the forest and take it." Near tells Mello and though they are not concerned about the video they are recording on their cameras at this point they are using the light on their cameras as a way to light up the darkness so the cameras are still getting a good video.

Mello keeps his eyes on the Manticore and Near keeps his eyes on the Griffin as they try to find an opening to get out of this situation.

The Manticore is about to charge but the Griffin screeches at the Manticore.

"Go! While they're distracted!" Near tells Mello tugging him in the direction of the opening right by the Griffin's claw that stopped them the first time.

The two run past the opening and the sound of flapping wings are heard behind them making both glance back with their camera's that is also their flashlights right now.

"They're in the sky." Near states and switches off the light on his camera turning it to night vision. "Mello put your camera to night vision so they have a harder time finding us." He tells the other looking to him with his camera.

Mello grumbles about how he won't be bossed around but does as told anyways knowing that they need to try to not be found by the beasts. "Let's find Matt." He says and takes the lead to search for Matt.

Near follows Mello and the two keep alert for any signs at all of the Griffin and or the Manticore as well as signs of Matt.

After a little bit of searching they haven't found anything.

Mello sees something on a bush and rushes over to it. "It's Matt's camera." He says as he pulls it out of the bush and freezing seeing the blood on it.

Near comes up and looks to Matt's camera. "Is that blood?" He asks.

"Yeah it is and the camera is still on." Mello swallows heavily. "MATT!" He calls and looks around for his friend but doesn't spot or hear anything. "Matt!" He tries again but still nothing. "You don't think…." He trails off unable to finish his question.

"There's not a lot of blood and no body. Have faith Mello." Near assures him. "Let's keep looking."

So they do just that and Mello carries Matt's camera by having the small strap on it attached to his wrist.

"Mello…." Near speaks quietly after a little bit of silence neither wanting to call Matt's name in case the Griffin and or Manticore hears them only to come to kill them.

"Hm?" Mello hums as he continues to look for signs of Matt.

"Just in case we don't make it out I want to tell you something…." Near almost seems shy about what he's doing.

Mello looks to Near not needing to use the camera to see him in the soft glow of the moonlight that manages to reach them plus they are sticking pretty close together as to try to not get separated. "What is it Near?"

Near glances away blushing a little as he lets the tight grip he has on his emotions slip a little. "Mello I never saw you as my rival. Not ever. I see you as an equal and I…. I fell in love with you." He says the last part a little quietly in a shy manner.

"Near…" Mello is a little lost for words.

"I just thought I'd say that just in case we don't get out of here." Near says still not looking at Mello and still has a blush on his face.

Mello's eyes don't leave Near and they stop walking. "Near I was always jealous about how you always seemed to beat me at everything as if it was nothing. It made me angry that you were doing nothing and were beating me while I worked my ass off to try to beat you." He tells the other.

"Well you kept me on my toes and I did study especially when you came really close to beating me. I saw it as the only way you'd at least notice me. You do have one thing that you beat me at. Emotions. You can easily show yours and be able to have lots of emotions yet I had pushed away what emotions I had many many years ago enough that I became unable to truly show my emotions along with difficulty finding emotions. Yes I still feel some but they're, my love for you, scared and calmness. I wish I could show them easily like you do." Near tells Mello glancing to Mello's eyes.

The two move a little closer then the Griffin's screech is heard somewhat in the distance.

"For the sake of trying to survive this and find Matt lets work together. Even if it's just this once." Near suggests.

Mello grits his teeth slightly but he doesn't feel anything telling him to resist the offer instead he really wants to team up with Near. 'Must be because we are kind of in a life or death situation.' He thinks to himself. "Ok Near. Let's get going and I guess we can work together." He clenches his fist that's not holding his camera.

"Right lets go." Near nods.

The two continue their search for Matt and talk quietly, but loud enough to hear one another, to each other along the way.

"Near I can't truly answer back to you about your feelings as I am confused." Mello tells him.

"It's alright." Near tells him.

Mello looks to Near and sees that he's twirling his hair.

Then out of nowhere someone jumps out in front of them hitting Mello with a large stick that could be used as a walking stick when out hiking.

Mello is knocked backwards into the ground almost dropping his camera. "WHAT THE HELL!" He curses loudly.

"Oh my god! Sorry Mello I didn't think it was you guys!" Matt apologises as Mello gets up with the help of Near.

Mello death glares Matt. "You fucking idiot!" He snaps.

"Mello if it was the Griffin or Manticore then Matt would have gotten time to get away. He didn't know it was us and we all need to try to get out of here alive. Plus you should be glad he is alright." Near tells Mello as he goes to check Matt's wounds using his camera that's still in night vision mode.

"What happened to you? Also how'd you manage to escape?" Mello asks as Near inspects the scratches on Matt's arms, one on his face and on his torso with maybe one on his leg.

"The Griffin found me and attacked. I mostly was able to dodge but still got some wounds as a gift from it. The roar got its attention and I used that time to escape. Though I lost my flashlight and camera." Matt explains.

"None of your wounds seem to be bad enough we need to do something about them right at this moment." Near lets Matt know. "There's a Griffin and a Manticore in these woods. We need to get out of here as fast as possible."

Matt's eyes widen. "A Manticore!?"

Near nods.

"Keep your camera in night vision mode. Last we saw of them they flew into the sky so let's do our best to try to make sure they can't find us." Mello explains to Matt handing the red head back his camera.

Matt nods and quickly checks his camera for damage the best he can not really finding anything.

"Let's go." Near takes the lead heading in what he believes is the direction out by using his mind to quickly calculate which direction they need to go in.

The other two follow, Mello closer to Near and Matt close to Mello.

All hoping that the Manticore and Griffin don't find them.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter six:

They continue walking as they keep alert for any signs of the Griffin and or Manticore.

"This seems to be going on forever." Matt whimpers.

"We did go into the forest quite a ways so it will take us a little bit to get out." Near assures Matt without turning to look at the other two.

"Yeah we'll be out soon. No sign of the Manticore or Griffin and maybe they flew off leaving us alone." Mello says with a glance to what he can see of the sky above through the trees as they walk.

The Griffin's screech contradicts what Mello just said.

The three had paused to see if they can find out where it came from.

"You spoke too soon Mello." Matt tells his friend getting a kind of hard punch to the shoulder. "Ow! Hey!" He rubs his shoulder but quickly moves to catch up to Mello and Near seeing as the two had started moving again.

"Get over it." Mello snorts and rustling makes them turn to the side to see if they can see anything.

"Pick up the pace now." Near says letting the other two go ahead of himself then follows as they jog in the direction they believe the exit is.

They skid to a stop when a tree falls down in front of them with Manticore claw marks on it.

The Manticore jumps out in front of them landing on top of the tree with a growl that's almost a roar.

"RUN!" Matt takes off running to the left of where he was standing.

"Shit!" Mello curses chasing after Matt with Near about to follow only to have the Manticore jump out in front of him making him have to dodge a slash from the beast.

Mello and Matt keep running not yet noticing they had lost Near.

"Matt! Wait up!" Mello calls to his terrified friend who slows a little upon hearing Mello's words.

Matt glances back not seeing anything following them. "Where's Near?" He asks panicking.

Mello glances back as they slow to a stop looking to see if Near had just fallen a little behind them but nothing or no one appears. "Fuck! Where did that little shit go!?" He growls.

The Manticore's roar echoes throughout the forest followed by the Griffin's screech.

Mello thinks about leaving but he can't knowing that Near had saved his life before so if he doesn't want to stay in debt to Near about it he should find the boy. He looks to Matt. "Matt." He says getting the red heads attention. "You need to get out of here. You're hurt as is right now. Get out of here and go find help especially if me and Near don't come out a half hour to an hour after you get out." He tells his friend.

"But Mello." Matt tries to remind his friend that it'd mean that Mello will be alone in this dangerous forest but Mello interrupts him before he can say another word.

"Matt go!" Mello commands. "Don't forget you are hurt. I am only helping Near because I hate owing him something like for saving me and I don't want to have to worry about you. Go! Get out of here! The exit shouldn't be too far and you should get out of here soon if you head in this direction." He points in the direction of where the believed to be exit is. "Get going." He turns away retracing his steps to try to find the pale boy.

Matt hesitates but Mello glances back giving Matt a slight glare that makes Matt do as commanded heading to where the exit should be.

Mello meanwhile continues to search for Near. "Near?" He calls out into the darkness not getting a response. He keeps looking and steps into something wet when he arrives where they had ran into the Manticore just before they lost Near. He looks down with his camera finding a puddle of blood making him look around some more but doesn't see anything else except for a small trail of blood which he follows. "Near!" He tries calling out again.

The forest remains silent except for the noises he is making as he continues to look for the pale boy following the trail of blood.

The Manticore and Griffin are nowhere to be seen or heard plus the dawn will be coming soon or so Mello guesses by the moons position.

Near is also nowhere to be seen or heard.

"Hey Near come on out and let's get going!" He calls through the forest still following the trail of blood. He spots the Manticore looking around up ahead so he quickly moves behind a tree glancing around it using his camera that's still recording and in night vision to track the beast's movements.

The Manticore seems to be trying to find something but doesn't seem to have any luck. It growls spreading its wings and flying into the air after slashing the top part of a small dark space that's like a den.

Mello waits a few seconds almost waiting a minute to make sure it's gone then he moves out of hiding being cautious. "Near?" He calls quietly as to try to not get the Manticore's attention since it just flew off.

"Mello?" Near's voice comes from the den making Mello go inside using his camera as his sight since the den is so dark finding Near in there sitting with his back leaning against the rocky wall.

"There you are. Now let's get going and I only came to find you because I hate owing you something." Mello says grabbing Near's arm about to drag Near out only for Near to pull away. He looks to the almost albino boy. "Near let's go." He says in almost a growl then notices Near has a hand pressed against his side as if he's injured.

"Yeah Mello I'm coming." Near responds moving only to visibly flinch obviously in a lot of pain.

"Hold on we need to check your wound." Mello says putting a hand on Near's shoulder a little gently pushing him back to a sitting position.

"I'm fine Mello." Near tries to assure the blonde haired genius but his clenched teeth tell a different story.

"Obviously not." Mello states in a stern way. "Even when I hurt you I've never seen you react this way. Now let me see." He tries to get Near's hand to move so he can see the youngers wound.

Near a little hesitantly let's Mello not wanting to make Mello worry but Mello is right.

Mello finds a badly bleeding gash on Near's side that could kill him or even just make him pass out if left untreated or even attempted to stop the bleeding. "It looks bad." Mello almost mummers feeling a little scared that he isn't going to be able to save Near thus unable to repay his debt…. That's what his mind thinks but his heart is saying that he's scared of losing Near because he doesn't want to lose the other. He shakes his head to push the thoughts on that away so he can concentrate. "Is there something we can use as a temporarily bandage?" He is about to look around when Near replies a little weakly.

"You can us my shirt. Just rip it." He tells Mello.

Mello rips off the sleeves on Near's shirt then ties one of the ends together only to use that to cover the wound tying the other two ends together after wrapping it around Near keeping it in position.

Near takes a small quick inhale of air when the fabric touches his wound but he relaxes himself the best he can as Mello finishes.

"That'll have to do for now." He tells Near who nods. "Can you stand? We shouldn't stay here especially with a wound like that since we don't know how long rescuers will come searching."

"I think so." Near tries to stand up but starts to fall backwards only for Mello to catch him.

Mello pulls Near close making Near put an arm around his shoulders making sure to be cautious of the wound on Near's side. He wraps an arm around Near's waist still being careful of the other's wound and keeps it there while using his other hand to hold his camera to use the night vision to see still not caring that it's still recording.

Near also uses his camera as his sight in the dark with his free hand since his other arm is still around Mello's shoulders to help keep himself standing.

They begin walking out of the den pausing to make sure they don't see anything out there before leaving the safety of the den.

They begin walking to where the exit of the forest retracing the steps Mello took to get there so they can get out of here.

Near starts to lean a little more on Mello making the blonde look to the other seeing him look tired along with a little weaker.

Mello looks forward again as they continue but can't hide his worry as he let's Near lean on him more.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter seven:

Matt was heading to the exit during this time but still is very tense but this time it is mixed with worry. "Maybe I should have gone with Mello." He mumbles to himself as he continues walking. "I hope they're alright." He hears the Griffin screech making him jump and look around to try to find where it is. He lets out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding and continues walking to where Mello said the exit is but picking up the pace a little. 'Got to get out of here before the Griffin or Manticore find me!' His thought's scream in his head. 'I got to find help for Near and Mello.' His thoughts also remind him.

The Griffin comes down from the sky landing hard right in front of Matt making the red head fall back slightly throwing his camera into the air so it lands in a nearby bush though it's angle still manages to capture Matt on the ground. The Griffin takes a step towards Matt opening its mouth only to let out a screech as it slashes at Matt who barely manages to roll out of the way in time to avoid the attack.

Matt gets up to his feet as fast as possible dashing into the direction that is heading in the opposite direction of the Griffin and deeper into the forest. He leaves his camera behind him as he runs but because he has been running so much he is starting to run out of breath along with his sides starting to hurt. He pushes himself to keep running in the darkness but it is getting increasingly difficult to do so. He glances behind himself and runs into a very solid tree making him stop moving until he falls onto the ground on his back. He doesn't move as he tries to stay conscious but he loses consciousness seeing the night almost dawn sky as the last thing he sees before he falls into unconsciousness.

Though the screech of the Griffin is the last thing he hears.

Mello and Near continue moving towards the exit of the forest.

Near is starting to fight to stay conscious making Mello begin to wonder if he will make it out of the forest.

Mello looks to the dark forest as the sun begins it's really slow rise into the sky giving them a little more light. He switches his camera out of night vision mode just in case he needs it quickly for something. He puts the strap attached to his camera to around his wrist then he shifts picking Near up with Near on his back.

Near quickly wraps his arms around Mello's neck as Mello picks him up off the ground. "Mello…." He says weakly. "I can walk." He keeps a grip on his camera accidently pushing the button to turn off night vision mode.

Mello snorts in slight laughter. "Yeah right. You're struggling to stay conscious right now. We shouldn't be too much farther from the exit." He says making sure he has a good grip on Near's thighs that are pressed against his sides making sure Near stays up. He picks up the pace a little from the pace they were walking.

Near smiles softly and lays his head on Mello's shoulder so his facing Mello's neck since it's the most comfortable. "Thank you Mello." He says softly but loud enough for Mello to hear then he closes his eyes to slits. "Let me know if you get tired." Near's voice sounds more like a weak mumble that is just able to be understood.

Mello's eyes flicker to Near's face seeing the others eyes start to slip closed but Near refuses to let them close fully trying to stay conscious though losing the battle. His worry for the pale boy spikes to a high level as he knows that if Near goes into unconsciousness then the smaller boy could very well die without real medical help soon. He tries to make it out of the forest as fast as he can making sure to not let himself get too exhausted. "Hang in there Near." He says in a worried voice and his voice even cracks a little.

A shadow of the Griffin flying by overhead makes Mello stop walking for a moment to glance up.

He feels Near become limp, though he can still feel the others small breaths, making him look to Near seeing that Near has fallen unconscious. He turns back to the direction he needs to be heading in and continues moving still going as fast as he can at the moment.

The only thought running through his mind at that moment is 'I got to get Near out of here before he dies!'

He tries looking for short cuts hoping to find some way out of the forest more quickly but he doesn't see any so he keeps moving as the sun continues to rise in the sky. He feels Nears breath's start to slow down and he glances once again to Nears face seeing that he doesn't have long. He turns away noticing Near had dropped his camera most likely when he had fallen unconscious. He pushes it away and continues to move to get out of the forest. 'Please Near don't give up on me! Not now!' He tries to send his thoughts to Near as tears threaten to fill his eyes if he wasn't pushing them away. 'Please. We'll make it out and you'll give me a challenge again like you always do! Playing with your toys and puzzles even twirling your hair.' He stops his thoughts as the urge to cry becomes stronger though he won't let his pride fall to reduce himself to tears.

Near forces his eyes open half way to being half way open. "Mello….." His weak voice says shakily and softly almost in a whisper.

Mello's eyes flicker to Near's face meeting Near's eyes. "Save your strength Near." He tells the smaller boy. "I'm sure we'll be out soon and then you'll get the medical help you need." He says concentrating on where he is going glad they haven't ran into the Griffin or the Manticore yet.

Near's eyes badly want to close again as he forces the softly spoken words out of his mouth. "I'm sorry Mello… Leave me and get out of here."

Mello growls upon hearing this. "No. Don't say such things. We both are getting out of here and even Matt will get out of this. We're all getting out of this alive. Do you hear me? All of us! Matt should have already gotten out and went to look for help. Just hang in there. Don't you dare die! Not like this. Besides if you die now then my debt to you for you saving my life will not be paid off."

Near feels very touched by Mello's words and the corners of his lips twitch very slightly upwards in a smile knowing that what Mello said about the debt sounds more like an excuse. "You tried." He pauses to get the next words out. "That's enough to repay the debt you believe you owe me." His eyes start to slip close.

"Near we will make it out. Just stay alive, no matter what stay alive." Mello tells him finding it harder and harder to hold back his tears as the realization that Near has a very slim chance of surviving if this continues. "We'll get out of here." He whispers under his breath repeating it a few times as he sees what he believes is the exit up ahead.

"I love you Mello." Near breaths out. "Even if you don't return my feelings I am glad that I managed to spend my last moments with you." He pauses a moment before speaking again. "My real name's Nate River."

"SHUT UP!" Mello snaps letting some tears escape making him sniffle softly. "Don't you dare talk as if you're not going to make it! Just stop talking and save your strength so you can stay alive." His voice sounds a little broken and he doesn't feel his camera beginning to fall off.

Near manages to open his eyes even if it's just a touch more at Mello's words and tone.

There's a few moments of silence between as they are very close to what seems like the exit.

"Near…" Mello speaks a little quietly but still loud enough for Near to be able to hear and a few more tears fall down his face as he says his next words. "I…. I love you too." His broken voice lets the words slip past his lips swallowing harshly before being able to speak again. "My real name's Mihael Keehl." He doesn't say anything for a few seconds. "Near?"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter eight:

Rodger opens his eyes as his alarm clock goes off making him groan shutting the alarm off and getting up. He gets ready for the day then heads to the cafeteria knowing that at least one child will be up at this time though the others will start to wake up.

Near has always beat him to the cafeteria every morning and sometimes Mello will as well.

But as he enters the cafeteria its empty showing no signs of either Mello or Near or any orphan at all! The only ones there are the chiefs that get up a little earlier to cook breakfast.

"Weird." He mummers to himself wondering why no one else was in here yet. He pushes it aside as not everyone can always hold a specific time to get up… though Near has only done this if he was sick or too injured to walk to the cafeteria. Rodger grabs breakfast and sits at a table digging in though the worry of why Near or Mello are not here yet is not sitting in his gut right making his appetite fall to less than usual. "I swear one of the kids will be the death of me." He sighs softly as he continues eating.

As he begins to finish eating orphans begin coming into the cafeteria either too tired to care that Mello and Near are missing from the scene just going to get food or are glancing around confused about where the two are before going to get food.

Rodger finishes his food then after he puts his tray and everything in its respected location he leaves the cafeteria unable to stop thinking about the strange absence of Mello and Near. He goes to the library checking to if one of them decided to go into there for some early studying. He however finds the door locked waiting to be opened by the librarian so there's no way they could have snuck into there this early. He goes to the play room not seeing anyone so he checks the common room still finding no one.

This makes his worry spike as he continues looking for the two only to let it be to wait to see if they will appear for class.

He heads to his office and tries to get some work done to try to get his mind off of things.

Awhile later some teachers come in, all of them are those who have morning classes that include Mello, Near and Matt since classes are organized by intelligence level unless it's an option course the orphans can take.

Rodger looks up at them seeing their worried faces making his heart drop.

"Rodger Mello, Near and Matt have all skipped my class this morning." A slightly older female teacher lets the older man know.

"Yes. They did the same for my class." The youngest female teacher agrees.

The other teachers in the room mummer their agreement.

"The three of them skipped?" His eyes widen with worry.

Sure Matt wouldn't be surprising if he skipped and sometimes Mello will too if that day's lesson was something he didn't need to sit through but Near and the three of them all skipping especially at the same time? Now that's a whole other story.

Rodger jumps to his feet. "I want everyone to look everywhere! Get as many adults as you can looking unless they have class. Also inform the students to tell an adult if they have seen Near, Mello or Matt. Go!"

The teachers nod and race out of the room to begin the search.

Rodger also quickly leaves the room starting his search at the rooms of the three boys. He knocks on Near's door first but when no reply comes he tries again only to get the same response. He grabs the door handle opening the door going into the room. "Near?" He looks around the boy's room.

There is absolutely no sign of Near being currently in the room locking himself away from others as he does sometimes but he's nowhere to be found in his room today.

Rodger turns to leave when a teacher quickly steps into the room.

"Rodger. Mello and Matt are not in their rooms and so far there isn't any sign of them." The teacher reports looking really worried.

"Same for here." Rodger sighs worriedly. "We'll have to keep looking." He says as he leads the teacher out of the room only for them to split up to cover more ground along with the others looking for the three missing orphans.

"Rodger." Linda's voice speaks up behind him making him stop and turn to one of the artistic girl orphans.

"Linda have you seen Mello, Matt or Near. Maybe you heard something that could help us find them?" He asks the brunette.

Linda nods softly. "Yesterday they said they were going to the rumored haunted forest just a little outside the orphanages grounds." She reports to him. "They were going there to have a competition to see who could last the longest. I wasn't close enough to hear what Mello had to said to Near but the way the two moved and Mello's words when he went back to Matt told me Near agreed. I was only close enough to clearly hear Mello and Matt if they were standing where Matt had been standing. I don't know when they left but that's all I know. Near wouldn't even give me any information when I asked." She reports. "Do you think they're alright?"

Rodger smiles at Linda kindly. "We'll find out when we find them but they should be. Thank you for your helpful information. Now go to class and we'll handle the rest." He turns away from her grabbing his walkie-talkie from his waist band raising so he can speak through it. He tells the other teachers what Linda told him and tells them to have some teachers waiting at the front doors for him so they can go to the forest to find the boys. He puts his walkie-talkie back to his waist band when done then makes sure he has his cell phone before heading to the front doors to meet up with the teachers.

They just have to hope they'll find the three alive and at least alright.

A man cruising along the road that is kind of by a forest, the forest Mello, Matt and Near went in, humming and taking his time as he is no rush along with in the slow lane. He has his windows rolled down as he feels like to listen to the sounds of nature if he can hear them from his car as he drives.

Besides he is the only one on the road right now.

Suddenly screams for help, pleading for someone to come help, coming from the forest catch his attention.

He stops humming looking at the forest as he slows his car down to a stop as he looks for any sign of who had called for help but doesn't see anything plus the screams stopped. He begins to wonder if it was his imagination and checks the radio finding that all music and radio things in his car are off so he looks back to the forest. He wonders if he should just continue on but then the screams and pleads for help are heard once more. He quickly moves his car to the side of the road turning on his hazards then gets out shutting and locking his car with his keys in his pocket. He then dashes towards the forest. "WHOEVER YOU ARE KEEP CALLING OUT SO I CAN FIND YOU!" He shouts as loud as he can as he tries to find where the screams were coming from. "PLEASE WHOEVER YOU ARE! I AM HERE TO HELP YOU! SO HELP ME FIND YOU!" He shouts out when there is a pause in the screams of the one in need.

"OVER HERE! PLEASE HELP!" The scream is heard again slightly behind the man.

The man turns making his slightly long auburn hair move as he moves. His hazel eyes determined as he races towards where the one screaming for help is calling from. He finally reaches where the one calling for help finding a blonde haired blonde with blue eyes holding an albino looking boy in his arms, the two are in a clearing and not to mention dirty from their adventure most likely.

The blonde stops screaming and looks to the man as he comes into view. The blonde's cheeks clearly show where his tears fell down and his eyes look like they haven't slept for one night along with showing signs of crying a lot. His gaze is so broken, worried and scared it almost makes the man's heart break. "He's hurt. He needs help!" The blonde's broken voice cracks slightly as he speaks to the man without raising his voice.

The albino looking boy has a badly injured side that has a lot of blood on it and he is unconscious along with looking pretty pale. He doesn't seem to be breathing though his baggy clothes may be hiding the very small breaths he's taking.

The man quickly moves over to the two boys picking up the albino boy's wrist looking for a pulse. He finds a very soft one that is dying out. "We need to get him to the hospital right away." He tries to carefully pick up the small unconscious boy but the blonde quickly picks the boy up being careful of the wound as he holds the smaller boy bridal style. He stands shakily obviously exhausted.

"I can take him." The man gently offers receiving a slight glare from the blonde so the man lets the boy carry the unconscious male as he begins to lead him to his car.

They are stopped before they can make it.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter nine:

A Griffin and Manticore stand in their way making the man gap in shock and with a scared look.

The blonde glares at the two beasts. "I need to get help for Near!" His broken voice tries to reason with the beasts. "Let us through before he dies!" He slightly chokes on a sob since he has no other tears to cry right now.

The Griffin pauses not looking viciously at them but the Manticore raises it's paw to slash at the blonde.

"Look out!" The man calls seeing what is about to happen. He jumps in the way of the Manticore's attack letting himself get hit instead of the blonde boy.

Meanwhile Rodger and some of the teachers have arrived at the forest heading inside to begin their search for the missing orphans. They call the three's names a they search.

"Mello!" Rodger calls looking at the ground for any sign of anything that may help lead him to at least one of the boys. "Matt!" He tries calling another's name. "Near! If any of you can hear us please come to us or let us know where you are!" He continues his search as their team of search and rescue head deeper into the forest.

After a little bit of searching they come across something.

"Rodger!" A teacher calls Rodger over who quickly goes over to the teacher.

"What is it? Did you find something?" He asks hopefully as he arrives to the teacher's side.

The teacher shows Rodger a camera with blood and dust on it. "I found this. Seems like someone dropped it."

Rodger notices the small N engraved on the camera and his eyes widen. "That's Nears camera!" He says rather worriedly. "Let's hope they stuck as a group and that they aren't far off. Keep it safe for now and we'll review whatever footage it has later." He says turning to continue the search for the three.

"Mello!"

"Near!"

"Matt!"

The teacher's and Rodger's voices echo throughout the forest as they continue searching.

Rodger can right now only hope and pray the boys are alright and at least alive.

"Rodger!" The youngest female teacher calls to him. "We've found another camera! It appears to be Mello's!"

Then a little ways in the opposite direction from Near's camera was found another teacher calls that he found Matt's camera.

All three camera's had at least a little blood on them and were definitely dusty with some scratches here and there.

"We need to find them and someone call nine one one for back up plus at least one of them is obviously hurt. Lets move!" Rodger commands heading off in one direction.

A teacher calls nine one one on her cell while the others split up to keeps searching for the three.

Rodger spots something on the ground that doesn't look normal and he moves closer finding that it is a puddle of blood that is starting to dry and clot. He holds his breath unconsciously upon finding it and he glances around him quickly letting himself breath so he doesn't pass out. He keeps looking still trying to figure out where the boys' could be and what the strange claw marks he keeps seeing are. "MELLO! NEAR! MATT!" He calls hoping that at least one will respond as he keeps searching following the trail of blood to the den. He stands at the entrance for a moment not wanting to scare any of them if any of them are in there. "Hello? Matt? Near? Mello? Are you in here?" He moves inside finding nothing but the spot where whoever's injured obviously had been resting.

There is no sign of them other than that so he leaves going out to look for any other sign that could lead him as to where they could have gone.

"Rodger there's a car parked on the side of the road with its hazards on. It's locked and no one is inside." A teacher informs him through the walkie-talkie.

"Alright thank you. Everyone keep an eye out for anyone in case they have something to do with the boy's disappearances." Rodger says in his walkie-talkie.

"Ten four." The teacher replies back then the search continues.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter ten:

Mello breathing picks up speed as he stares wide eyed at the man's lifeless body. "No…" He takes a step away from the man and looks to the Manticore and Griffin.

The Griffin and Manticore are racing to try to reach him and Near or well Nate.

"Hold on Nate. I'll protect you. Just live please." He pleads remembering after he told Mello told Nate he loves him.

Flash back:

He glances to Nate and sees Nate's eyes open to slits looking like they could close at not even a second later! He pushes through to what seemed to be the exit as his heart races in panic. He looks around getting more panicked as he finds they are in a clearing in the forest. "No…. No. No! NO!" His voice raises in volume with each no as his tears fall like waterfalls and on the last no he flings his head back screaming the two letter word to the sky. He cries for the loss of his rival and his friend since he may never see the two again except maybe in the afterlife unless Matt got out safely. He knows he is exhausted and ready to collapse plus there's no way to tell what way is out right now. He collapses to a sitting position on the ground as his tired legs can no longer hold him up. He doesn't care that his camera is gone since it fell off some time ago. He gently lays Nate down shifting until Nate is resting on his lap, or at least his head to about upper torso is making sure Nate's face is looking up at him. His hands are slightly cradling Nate's head on his lap. "Nate." He leans down and places his lips on the others in a brief kiss.

This makes the corners of Nate's mouth twitch in the upward direction before he closes his eyes falling back into unconsciousness.

Mello raises his head taking a deep breath and raises his voice to as loud as he can at that moment knowing that there's enough day light for at least someone to be out. "HELP! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP US! HELP!" He called and called pausing every now and then to see if anyone responds before starting up again. He finally hears a response and he continues calling for help trying to get the person to where he and Nate are. He would cry in sheer relief someone came to their rescue either looking for them or hearing his calls for help but his tears are all dried up due to all the crying just a few seconds earlier.

When the man emerges Mello begs him to help Nate being too exhausted and feeling too down to really care at that time, not even noticing the man's slightly long face.

The man lets Mello know that they need to get Nate to the hospital which he already knows but when the man tries to take Nate from him he swears he feels something snap as he picks Nate up himself. He forces himself to stand declining the offers of help from the man wanting to snap at him that they need to get going.

The two of them begin moving and when hope for escaping their lives is pushed down when the Griffin and Manticore appear in front of them.

His first thought in his scattered brain is that he has to protect Nate so he can still have a chance to survive. He doesn't think rationally as he tries reasoning with the two mystical beasts, in fact his mind is only thinking about giving Nate a chance of living.

End of flash back.

Mello wants to raise his voice to call for help but finds he can't so he looks down at Nate's face leaning down and kissing Nate on his cold lips no longer feeling an breath from the other at all, knowing there's no way to escape right now, making him choke on a dry sob. "I-I'm Sorry!" He sniffles slightly as his body tries to cry the tears that are dried up. "I d-didn't keep my p-promise. I'm s-so sorry."

The next thing he feels is sharp pain and his eyes never leave Nate's face as black begins to take over his vision.

His final words before his vision goes fully black is two simple words.

Forgive me.

The teachers and Rodger continue their search and a teacher lets the other's know she found Matt unconscious, a little hurt but still alive.

It seems he ran into a tree most likely in fright and with the paramedics arriving just on time the teacher carries Matt to them since they won't be able to get to him if they're in the forest.

Rodger keeps looking for any sign of the other two missing orphans glad that they have found one of them alive and at least alright. He finds himself in a clearing but two big figures past the clearing is what catches his attention so he moves to investigate.

The two beast like figures fly off into the sky as Rodger nosily makes his way to the area they were in.

He stops dead in his tracks when he sees what the horrific scene holds.

Lying on the ground is a dead man a little ways in front of Mello and Near, dead with his stomach slashed open by monstrous sized claw marks. Then Mello and Near are also lying on the ground looking lifeless.

Mello has a really deep gash on his sides made by what looks like two monstrous creatures that also connects to part of his back from their locations on his sides. His eyes, like Nears, are closed and he has his face kind of close to Nears.

Near looks like he had been in Mello's arms probably being carried by the blonde. He looks deathly pale much more so than Mello does and he has a wound on his side that seems to have had an attempt to have something that hopefully helps stop the bleeding or slows it down, which is most likely made out of the sleeves that have been ripped off of Near's shirt.

Both of them are dirty from without a doubt their adventure and the wounds are just not something human made or made from any sort of animal that's known.

Rodger feels dizzy as he tries to keep himself from stuttering as he informs the other teachers of his findings along with where he is.

Mello, Near and the Man found with them named Keith died that day with what inflicted the wounds on them remain a mystery to this very day.

Matt was lucky enough to survive but was put in therapy and suffered many nightmares of the incident. He shared his story of what happened to Rodger before the older man reviewed the tapes from the cameras and when he went to the therapist. He continues to see a therapist as he suffers from the traumatizing experience especially after finding out Mello and Near were killed. His nightmares still will not go away but the progress with everything that's being done to help him is going smoothly just taking its time.

Whammy's house held a funeral for Mello and Near and hope that they live a happy life up in heaven peacefully happily free.

The woods became closed off completely for safety reasons and even after investigating where the bodies were found the police cannot confirm for sure what or who killed the three.

The presence of mythical creatures is a continued debate but could this horrific incident be a huge clue that they exist and are a lot closer than we think? It could very well be if science doesn't continue to refuse to acknowledge their existence.

The end.


End file.
